Strategy released to deal with rising threat of catastrophic Fraser River flooding

Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun07.15.2014

Flood waters from the Fraser River surround a farm in Chilliwack in 2012. Fraser Valley residents were bracing for a weekend of rising waters and potential flooding.JONATHAN HAYWARD
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

Flood debris and wrecked cars in the upper Fraser Valley above Chilliwack in November 1977.

CPR main line washed out during the great Fraser River flood of 1894.
/ Vancouver Public Library

Front page of The Vancouver Sun for May 31, 1948 regarding the floods in the Fraser Valley.
/ PNG

The Fraser Basin Council released a new integrated multi-pronged strategy Tuesday to address a potential catastrophic flood on the Lower Fraser River. A tug boat makes its way up the Fraser River near Deas Island Regional Park in Delta Sunday September 22, 2013.Ric Ernst
/ PNG Files

The Fraser Basin Council released a new integrated multi-pronged strategy Tuesday to address a potential catastrophic flood on the Lower Fraser River. A cargo ship steams down the Fraser River east of the Alex Fraser Memorial Bridge in Delta August 1, 2013.Ric Ernst
/ PNG Files

A view of the dike in Richmond and the Fraser River near #2 Road bridge. The Fraser Basin Council released a new integrated multi-pronged strategy Tuesday to address a potential catastrophic flood on the Lower Fraser River.Les Bazso
/ Vancouver Sun

The Fraser Basin Council released a new integrated multi-pronged strategy Tuesday to address a potential catastrophic flood on the Lower Fraser River.Tyler Olsen
/ Chilliwack Times

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METRO VANCOUVER - A massive flood of the Fraser River has the potential to be the most expensive natural disaster in Canada, affecting more than 300,000 people, $50 billion worth of infrastructure and the B.C. economy.

The threat, which is believed to be a one-in-50 year occurrence, has prompted senior levels of government, along with 25 municipalities, two regional districts and the Fraser Basin Council, to join together to develop an integrated flood plan from Hope to Richmond, recognizing that the Lower Mainland is highly vulnerable to river and coastal flooding as a result of snowpack, heavy rainfalls, tsunami and debris flow.

The move follows provincial reports that by the end of this century, a 50-year flood could be similar in magnitude to floods that had once occurred only every 200 to 500 years, such as the one in 1898. Yet many of the area's dikes, particularly in between Hope and Mission, are not high enough.

"This is timely, it is important and one that will help us mitigate this huge threat in years to come," said Fraser Basin chairman Colin Hansen, who unveiled what he called a "blueprint for action" in New Westminster Tuesday. "We don't know if that's next year or 49 years from now."

Steve Litke, with the Fraser Basin Council, said Tuesday the cost of responding to such a flood far outweighs any mitigation measures, noting the Provincial Emergency program had cited that every $1 in mitigation helps avoid $4 in reactive costs.

"Many of the dikes in the system do not meet the current provincial dike standards. Even under the current flood risk we're not where we want to be," Litke said. "There will be significant costs if nothing is done."

The planning process will occur in two phases, the first involving widespread analysis of the region's vulnerabilities and the second starting in 2016 with the development of a specific regional strategy and plan. The Fraser Basin Council has budgeted $500,000 over the two years, but it's not clear where the rest of the funding will come.

B.C. Attorney General Suzanne Anton said Tuesday the province would commit $124,000 to the plan, noting a flood on the Fraser River would have serious ramifications for the B.C. economy.

"(The Fraser River) is a huge economic driver," she said. "We need to avoid the unfortunate situation that Manitoba is experiencing now and what Alberta experienced last year. We don't have a figure but we know a major flood on the Fraser has the potential to be the most expensive natural disaster in Canadian history."

A report commissioned by the regional chambers of commerce in early 2013 suggests current costs just for diking upgrades for the tidal areas of the river and adjacent coastal reaches required by 2100 are in range of $9 billion. It noted some of the largest employers and businesses in Richmond occupy the banks of the Fraser River, such as the Vancouver airport Authority, the Steveston Harbour Authority, and Port Metro Vancouver. Much of the Lower Mainland's agricultural land is also along the banks of the river.

The report's co-author Dave Park, an independent economist and former chief economist for the Vancouver Board of Trade, called on senior levels of government to help deal with inadequate flood protection infrastructure and a lack of action on annual sediment removal from spring freshets.

"Damage from a major dike failure could be in the tens of billions of dollars, with very serious effects on the economy of this region, British Columbia, and all of Canada due to the impact on the transportation of goods and services," said the report's co-author Matt Pitcairn.

Hansen agreed there must be a coordinated effort in the region to deal with the potential fallout of a flood. The strategy would provide an objective list of priorities so that municipalities weren't fighting each other for provincial monies to upgrade dikes or dredge the river, while ensuring that any work done didn't result in unintended consequences in other parts of the region.

"What would be a mistake is if (we) just started throwing money at the problem," he said.

He noted that was the province's response in 2007, when it brought in hundreds of dumptrucks to deal with the threat of flooding from the Fraser. The trucks were spread along the river but not necessarily where they were most needed.

Any work should start at the most vulnerable areas to avoid unintended consequences, he said. Building higher dikes in the Fraser Valley, for instance, could result in more water being channelled and directed at Richmond.

"There has to be an opportunity for the power of that water in a major flood year to be dispersed," he said. "We have to look at where the priorities are going to be and know what is done has consequences elsewhere."

Hansen said the last flood management strategy had been developed 30 years ago, and much has changed since then.

Matthew Machielse, assistant deputy minister of operations for Alberta's environment and sustainable resource development, agreed that coalition members must "make room for the river" even if it involves tough choices around dikes, dredging, urban development and recreational pastimes. He noted his province has paid market value for many of the homes that were evacuated in the 2013 flood and is spending $21 million over four years to restore habitat and wetland areas.

"What do we need to restrict to address some of that?" Machielse said. "They're tough conversations to try to find that balance."

Sto:lo Grand Chief Doug Kelly suggested the coalition talk to the people who live and work on the river when creating the plan. He noted his band had sought help for floods in 1989 and 1990 but their concerns were passed between by the federal and provincial governments.

"Many of my communities are on the banks of the Fraser and are not protected by dikes," he said. "Our community was flooded twice; that's not something I wish on anyone."

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Strategy released to deal with rising threat of catastrophic Fraser River flooding

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